An expensive and highly-publicized September 11 ABC "docudrama" was soundly defeated in overnight Nielsen ratings by Sunday Night Football, RAW STORY has learned.

Early indications are that the "miniseries event" actually tied a rerun of a documentary on the same subject, and barely edged out the eighteenth season premiere of The Simpsons.

The New York vs. Indianapolis game earned rival NBC a 15.1/23 rating, according to overnight returns.

Part one of ABC's "Path to 9/11," in comparison, earned a rating of 8.2/12--about half as many viewers. This tied a CBS repeat of a documentary, also about the September 11, 2001 attacks on America. The CBS repeat was somewhat handicapped by a half hour delay caused by an overrun of a U.S. Open Tennis match.

The season opener of The Simpsons looks to have come in third with an 8.1/12, considered to be healthy for such a long-running series.

As overnight metered ratings are not always indicative of the final national numbers, the second and third place standings are subject to change.